Good Grief
Read the Text: 2 Corinthians 7
Memorize the Text:
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.
(2 Corinthians 7:10, CSB)
Consider the Text: 2 Corinthians 7:10
The phrase “good grief” is used by people who experience a flabbergasted state. Often the word means that someone cannot believe what they are experiencing or what someone has done. On the flip side, very few people use the term good when speaking of experiencing grief. The apostle Paul spoke of two forms of grief concerning sin in one’s life. He spoke of godly grief and worldly grief. Thus, there is a “good grief” and a “bad grief.” Which grief do you practice concerning the issue of sin in life?
GODLY GRIEF
The apostle noted that godly grief is the proper response to sin in one’s life because this form of grief produces repentance. Godly grief is a deep, core-level grief that demands change. This pain is far more profound than mere sorrow. Godly grief occurs when one feels deep pain from going against the desires of the Lord. Thus, they respond with repentance.
When one responds with repentance, they acknowledge the sinful state and take steps to abandon the state and journey down a new path. This transition and change occur not because one becomes caught but because of a deep passion for living in obedience before the Lord. This form of grief produces the needed response that leads to salvation. Without a genuine acknowledgment of sin that comes from godly grief, genuine repentance is impossible; thus, salvation cannot occur. Godly grief produces within the person a deep sense of needed salvation and promotes the needed repentance that produces the proper response that leads to salvation.
The experience of a godly grief that leads to salvation lives one living without regret. Regret disappears because the new life from salvation occurs, and the old passes away. Though the past may be painful, the presence of forgiveness brings forth a life of hope and promise that lives without regret of the past because the past is gone. Thus, the person lives in the fullness of redemption and freedom.
WORLDLY GRIEF
In mentioning worldly grief, Paul points to the other form of grief that opposes godly grief. Worldly grief occurs when one lives with regret and sorrow. The sorrow often comes from the experience of being sorry that one got caught instead of sorrow that leads to repentance. As a result, worldly grief does not produce repentance but leads to eternal death because of the absence of true forgiveness.
Worldly grief does not produce repentance because the foundation of the response is the guilt of being caught and not a motivation that leads to authentic change through repentance. There is no deep passion for change but instead just a dismissal that would alleviate the pain. This individual seeks peace from the pain, not repentance leading to change. Thus, death becomes the outcome because salvation never occurs.
Worldly life leads to a life filled with regret. The individual always lives with the overbearing reality of the past and struggles with the constant battle of the present. They live in defeat because regret bounds them and refuses to release them. Thus, these individuals can never experience real freedom. The presence of regret impacts their life emotionally and physically because they live under the constant pressure of the pain.
How would you define the grief you experience over sin in your life? Are you experiencing godly grief leading to the foot of the cross, or are you experiencing worldly grief that leaves you ensnared? Are you share the good grief that leads to salvation, or do you declare “good grief” because here we go again? Strive to live in the good godly grief that produces repentance that leads to salvation.
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
